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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26341348">for he was a star</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/degrayi/pseuds/degrayi'>degrayi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Haikyuu!!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji-centric, Bokuto Koutarou-centric, Canon Compliant, Character Study, Fluff, Haikyuu!! Manga Spoilers, M/M, Minor Angst, Relationship Study</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:28:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,100</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26341348</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/degrayi/pseuds/degrayi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Volleyball was just a club, but Bokuto was another entity entirely, and Akaashi wanted to be the one to help him fly. If Bokuto was the star, a body that only had to rely on itself to live and breathe and play volleyball, then Akaashi would be the one to make sure the world sees the same light as him, to see Bokuto Koutarou playing the one thing he loves, even if he only had two years of high school to do it.</p><p>Or, a look into Akaashi's journey with volleyball, and in turn, Bokuto.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Akaashi Keiji &amp; Bokuto Koutarou, Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>for he was a star</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/localcasualstan09/gifts">localcasualstan09</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Akaashi has always done his best as the setter of Mori Junior High. He always attended practices, he always listened to the coach, he always set for his teammates properly, but he didn’t particularly like playing volleyball.</p><p>So when high school entrance exams came up, and he received a recommendation from Fukuroudani Academy, he didn’t think anything of it.</p><p>But when he saw a Fukuroudani player rush to spike, silver hair with black streaks sticking up while his arm swings in rapid succession as if nothing was more important than killing the ball, Akaashi thought of him as a star, and that maybe, he could set for him.</p><p>He accepted the application to Fukuroudani Academy.</p><p>After Akaashi was formally asked by the Fukuroudani player, Bokuto Koutarou, to practice with him for a little bit, he knew that the two of them did not share the same definition of “a little bit”. What was expected to be 5 to 10 minutes worth of setting for the ace turned into a drawled out two hour session of tossing, setting, then killing the ball. But when Bokuto told him “Your tosses are the best,” he was just a bit more excited about playing volleyball than usual.</p><p>And so the school year went on like this: Akaashi would set for Bokuto after practices, fingers touching the ball for just a second before directing it to the ace, the ball flying in an arch that’s neither too high nor too low, neither too close to the net nor too far, but just right for Bokuto to hit it easily.</p><p>The pair would routinely stay behind in the gym for more practice, for more volleyball, and for more of each other.</p><p>If anyone had seen the two of them cleaning up the gym after their much-extended training sessions, they could’ve seen the lingering touch of Bokuto’s hand on Akaashi’s as they finish folding the net, or Akaashi training his eyes on Bokuto as he places the volleyballs back into the basket to make sure he’s still there. They would’ve heard their exchange of promises of “Let’s do this again,” and “As many times as you want.”</p><p>Volleyball was just a club, but Bokuto was another entity entirely, and Akaashi wanted to be the one to help him fly. If Bokuto was the star, a body that only had to rely on itself to live and breathe and play volleyball, then Akaashi would be the one to make sure the world sees the same light as him, to see Bokuto Koutarou playing the one thing he loves, even if he only had two years of high school to do it.</p><p>In the Spring Interhigh tournament of Akaashi’s first year, Bokuto scored the winning point against the team that had defeated them back in fall. They would go to nationals, Akaashi’s first nationals, and it was <em>his</em> ace that helped them qualify.</p><p>
  <em>No matter what other people say, we are the protagonists of the world.</em>
</p><p>It was at the same time that Akaashi had come to two realizations: one, that he doesn’t want to play volleyball professionally despite how much he’s come to love the sport, and two, that he only has one year left to bring out Bokuto’s best. But at the moment, it was enough.</p><p>When the new round of first years step into the gym in Akaashi’s second year, he’s introduced as Akaashi Keiji, the vice-captain of Fukuroudani’s volleyball club, standing side by side with Bokuto Koutarou, the captain of the team.</p><p>With Akaashi’s head full of calculations, of tracking Bokuto’s weaknesses, of delivering Bokuto’s favorite sets, of making sure everyone is connected, of everything and anything the team needs, of what Bokuto needs, the echo of desire to keep playing rings in his mind. I want to win too.</p><p>Like the year before, the two of them would stay late to develop more techniques, to hone their skills even more, with Akaashi always giving Bokuto his best sets, and Bokuto always spiking the ball down as hard as he can, a signal of gratitude for entrusting the ball to him, for always delivering.</p><p>Then came Bokuto’s last high school tournament.</p><p>“Looking back, I wish I’d gotten to play together with you guys a whole lot more.”</p><p>It was day 2 of the Spring Interhigh tournament, and Bokuto told Akaashi he wanted to win every game, that he would win every game with the team they had, the team they built up until now. It was day 2 of the tournament and they would have 3 more days to play together before the team is done for the year, but Akaashi felt like it wasn’t enough.</p><p>It was day 2, but when Akaashi dragged Bokuto back to their hotel room, his hand tugging on Bokuto’s arm to get him back in the building, Akaashi thinks he would’ve liked it if he had been born just a year earlier, because he couldn’t imagine volleyball without Bokuto.</p><p>The team lost their first set to Mujinazaka in the quarterfinals, a national-level team rooted by top 3 ace Kiryuu Wakatsu, and it was Akaashi’s fault.</p><p>If only Akaashi hadn’t played right into their hands, if only he had more awareness of the court, if only he calculated just a bit more and if only he didn’t make the mistakes that he had, they wouldn't have dropped the set. If only. <em>If we lose now, Bokuto and the rest of the third years wouldn’t be able to play on the same court again. </em></p><p>“Have you ever thought that it’d be okay if we lost a match?”</p><p>Akaashi isn’t going to be a professional volleyball player, but if it means winning this tournament just as Bokuto has declared, then he thinks he could perform like he always has, a setter capable of controlling his own thoughts and actions, of task focus. A setter capable of sending the best shots to Bokuto. <em>Your tosses are the best.</em> There was never a reason to lose to begin with.</p><p>Fukuroudani made it to the finals, but they lost in full sets against Ichibayashi High, a team no one could’ve predicted winning the tournament. Bokuto was completely shut down by three blockers at match point.</p><p>“I should’ve hit that, as an ordinary ace.”</p><p>For Bokuto was an ace through and through, his spikes built to carry his team to victory, to score against the tallest of blocks, his ability to show everyone how fun volleyball is, to pull the team together, but even Bokuto wasn’t invincible.</p><p>If Akaashi could list any fault in Bokuto, it would be that even though there is no one person responsible if a team loses a match, Bokuto would blame himself nonetheless.</p><p>Akaashi had never felt more compelled to tell Bokuto not to burden himself than in their final game, but this was Bokuto. The same person that would buy Akaashi onigiri for a week if they won a practice match, the same player that showed Akaashi that having fun means getting stronger and working harder, the same star that brought Akaashi back into volleyball.</p><p>As an ace, Bokuto Koutarou can only look forward and fly higher, Akaashi doesn’t have the authority to ground him, he whose life is built upon volleyball.</p><p>The night before Bokuto graduated, Akaashi clutched Bokuto’s shirt for what may be the last time, head tucked under his chin as Bokuto combed his hand through Akaashi’s hair, whispering nothing but gratitude for the past two years and wishing nothing but the best as Akaashi becomes the new captain of the volleyball team, as they both go their separate ways.</p><p>So Akaashi left Bokuto with this: “Thank you for making me feel like I could fly too.”</p><p>The third years have officially ended their high school volleyball career, and Akaashi loses the one he longed for.</p><p>In Akaashi’s final year at Fukuroudani, he forgets what it means to play volleyball.</p><p>He stays behind to practice more, just like he used to, but his calls of “Bokuto-san” as he releases the ball to the far left side of the court are met with the deafening silence of the gym. <em>He’s not here anymore.</em></p><p>The entire team has changed, with Wataru being the only other regular that hasn’t graduated. The new team was good, but not strong enough. Fukuroudani didn’t qualify for nationals for the first time in 4 years.</p><p>Akaashi thinks that it’s become his middle school years all over again. Fukuroudani was no longer considered a powerhouse now that the roster is filled with players only seeking to play as a hobby, but Akaashi keeps doing what he’s always done: setting the ball.</p><p>Except now when he sets the ball he can’t feel the adrenaline of being able to set for a star, can’t envision the smile on Bokuto’s face as his eyes trail up to the ball, always set the way he likes it.</p><p>For when it came to volleyball, Akaashi will only be reminded of Bokuto, the first person to praise him for his tosses and the only person that could make him love volleyball.</p><p>But Bokuto isn’t here, and he won’t <em>be</em> here, committed to playing professional volleyball all the way in the Osaka prefecture.</p><p>By the time Akaashi graduates, he doesn’t want to touch a volleyball ever again, and doesn’t ever want to go back to the gym again if Bokuto isn’t there.</p><p>In university, Akaashi doesn’t have the time to keep up with volleyball, his time instead occupied by the literature works he had to study and the part-time jobs he was looking for to pay off his college tuition.</p><p>
  <em>He hasn’t seen Bokuto since he graduated.</em>
</p><p>The first time Akaashi meets Bokuto in-person again is after 6 years, he's at the Sendai Arena in Miyagi.</p><p>Akaashi is an editor for Udai Tenma’s up and running manga, and Bokuto is contracted with the MSBY Jackals, a Division 1 team in the V. League. The setter on his team is Miya Atsumu, who was recognized as the number 1 setter back in high school.</p><p>Bokuto is in better form than ever, with the audience laughing to Bokuto doing flips across the court, and clapping a beat as he readies his powerful serve. And this time, when Bokuto is met with a three-person block, he doesn’t falter.</p><p>Akaashi watches as Bokuto constantly adapts to the game tempo, golden eyes focusing on the ball like he’s always done, presence shining brighter than ever before.</p><p>And when he sees Bokuto score the final point, like the ace that he is in all his glory; when he sees Bokuto raise his fist up in the air, hand clenching as tightly as he could while he proclaims his signature phrase of “hey, hey, hey”, Akaashi is once again reminded of what an honor it was to have played volleyball by his side.</p><p>He wants to set for Bokuto again.</p><p>During the post-game interview, Akaashi tells him just that.</p><p>Now, Bokuto has always longed for volleyball, has always seen the ball as his lifeline, for he could not be Bokuto without volleyball to accompany him behind his name. Yet when Bokuto sees Akaashi, the setter that has always given him his favorite tosses, he thinks he could look at Akaashi the same way.</p><p>“I want to spike your tosses again.”</p><p>For Bokuto, Akaashi was the one who unearthed him, and the one who kept believing in him despite his volatile personality back in high school. It had always been Akaashi to bring him out of his slumps, Akaashi who taught him how to be a true ace for the team he loved. Akaashi, who had known that Bokuto only had the brains for volleyball yet stayed to practice with him all the way into the darkness of nights. Akaashi, who helped him become the player he is now. Akaashi, who was here now.</p><p>When Bokuto wraps his hand around Akaashi’s, thumb gliding across his wrist to promise he won’t leave ever again, Akaashi looks up at Bokuto as if he encapsulates every star in the galaxy, and Bokuto looks to Akaashi like he could give up on volleyball the moment Akaashi tells him to.</p><p>
  <em>Neither of them were going anywhere.</em>
</p><p>“I’ve always felt that the whole world cheering me on is what makes me play the best during games, but when I look back on every match I’ve ever been in, I realized that it was actually because you were there, every single time.”</p><p>“Then I’ll keep watching you, so show the world what you can do, ordinary ace.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I couldn't write out everything I imagined this fic to be, but I do hope it still captured the bits and pieces what volleyball meant to Akaashi despite him not pursuing the sport after high school.</p><p>If you finished up until the end, thank you so much for reading! &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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